Wednesday night, my son and I finished up a job late. We didnt get home till 9:30. His girlfriend wasn't getting off till 11. He wanted to go see her and have some dinner. He is 24, so I only mentioned try not to be out too late since your leaving tomorrow night to be the best man in your cousins wedding at Camp Lajune.
I was exhausted, got my shower and went right to bed. Father and Motherhood are closely related. I woke up out of a sound sleep at 2am wide awake and sore from the previous day's work. I get up to go take some aleve and get a drink of water. While standing in the kitchen I looked out the window to the concrete slab where my son usually parks his truck. It was almost a full moon and very bright. His truck wasn't there, but as I was looking I heard this whine like a motor cycle winding up thru it gears out on our hard road. It wound out and then went silent and followed by what sounded like a thud. I thought ...Boy! that was strange, but went right into my room and got back in bed. Within 30 seconds...my phone was ringing
It is never good when the phone rings at 2 am
By all rights, I should be planning my son's funeral or at the very least, visiting him in the hospital. I and my son are blessed...and God was riding with him.
He was a very stupid and very lucky young man. He left his buddies at Applebees and was on his way home. Definitely had more than the common "just two beers officer" comment you hear. He had looked down at his cell phone in the seat and apparently pulled his steering wheel one way and when he realized what he had done he tried to correct, but the large tires caught on the shoulder of the road and his truck high sided and rolled 3 times, crashing into the back corner of a barn in a neighbors front yard, catchingthe 6x6 corner post right in the middle of the driver's door, snapping it off at the base where it was imbedded in concrete.
His truck was totalled.
Thank God he was wearing his seat belt. He gets clustrophobic with his windows up, so Im convinced had he not had them up he would have been thrown out and hurt severly or killed. As it was, aside from just being sore, he had just minor scratches on his back and each arm, a busted lip and loose tooth.
I use to always make my kids fasten their seat belts hoping that someday, it would just be second nature for them to do just that, but I knew there were lots of times when he wouldn't do it. You can't be there all the time to tell them, but something made him fasten it the other night.
I hope this serves as a wakeup call for him. I have been concerned about his drinking for quite awhile, but you know kids think they are invincible and at 24 they think they are all grown up and Mom and Dad are always just over-reacting. DUI people came out...they knew he had been drinking and why they didn't give him a DUI is beyound me, but hopefully the man who's barn he busted up was able to get thru to him. He told my son, that had he been coming home 5 hours later and had hit his grandchildren while they were waiting for their bus...he would have killed him. Even as much as I love my son...I can't argue with that. I can only imagine how I would have felt were it my grandchild and some drunk stranger hurt them.
Mr Lemyer is a recovering alcoholic...can't BS that guy
I thanked him profusely for talking to my son. he wasn't mean, just direct and honest about what he was doing with his life. Kids do tend to turn off their brain after listening to so many sermons from their parents. So to hear it from someone other than Dad will hopefully help.
Not sure what Im trying to say here friends, but never ever let you kids leave home without telling them you love them. AND never be afraid to hurt their feeling when you know they are doing the wrong thing. I don't...and now I think I may have his attention again for alittle while. Pray for me...and my son. God bless you all!
